Molar band



Feb M, 1936. A. RICHARDSON MOLAR BAND Filed April 23,A 1934 PatentedFeb. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

My invention relates to a molar band of the particular type used inorthodontic practice and the principal objects of my invention are, togenerally improve upon and simplify the construction of the conventionalforms of molar bands and to provide a band that may be easily andconveniently fitted to the tooth upon which the band is mounted.

A further object of my invention is, to provide a molar band having aportion that is shaped so as to conform to the contour of the tooth towhich the band isv applied, thereby minimizing the time and laborinvolved in the initial fitting of the band to the tooth and thesubsequent application and securing of the fitted band to the tooth.

Further objects of my invention are, to provide a molar band that isconstructed so as to minimize fracture and breakage of the band when thesame ls fitted onto the tooth and brought into intimate Contacttherewith through the use of pliers and further, to provide a molar bandthat may be snugly fitted to the convex surface of a tooth withoutnecessity for resorting to the usual crimping of the edges of the bandthrough the use of pliers or like tools.

Heretofore it has been the general practice to construct molar bands inthe form of rings of thin pliable ribbonlike metal and to iit the sameonto the tooth by pinching and crimping operations with pliers or thelike, but such practice tends to fracture the band metaLparticularly atthe points engaged by the end of the jaws of the pliers and further suchpractice necessitates production of the ringlike bands in severaldiierent sizes.

Further, in the contouring of a tooth band so as to shape the same toconform to the bulge and contour of the tooth to which the band is beingtted, it is practically impossible to contour the band and producesmooth regular edges on the ribbonlike metal of the band with pliers orlike tools and in this connection it will be understood that it ishighly desirable and essential that the finished band be as smooth andregular in contour as is possible so as to t snugly upon the tooth forwhich the band has been prepared.

My invention contemplates the formation of the molar bands from Astripsof ribbonlike metal with the intermediaten portion of said strips con-50 toured so as to lt snugly onto the tooth to which the band is rstfitted and subsequently mounted.

A further object of -my invention is, to provide a molar band having aportion or portions extended from the loop to form an arm adapted toreceive thepliers that arevutilizedf in fitting/the band Iii? on thetooth and which extended portion is provided adjacent its outer end withshoulders or abutments for one of the jaws of the pliers used during theband fitting operation.

With the foregoing and other objects in View my invention consists incertain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts thatwill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a molar band construction in accordancewith my invention.

Fig, 2 is a top plan view of the band and showing a part thereof inhorizontal section.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the extended portion of the band and showing amodified form of the shoulders or abutments thereon.

Figs. 4 and 5 are plan views similar to Fig. 2 and showing furthermodified forms of the shoulders or abutments.

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the form of band illustrated in Fig. 1 andshowing the pliers associated therewith for fitting the contouredportion of the band onto a tooth.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view partly in section of the band applied to atooth and showing portions of the pliers that are utilized in fittingand tightening the band on the tooth.

Fig. 8 is a detail section through the ends of the loop of the band andshowing said ends permanently connected and finished. n

Fig, 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the pliers used in tting myimproved band to a tooth.

In the construction of my improved molar band, I utilize a strip I0 ofthin ribbonlike metal and the intermediate portion thereof or thatportion that is designed to encircle the tooth, is slightly curved incross section with the convex surface outwardly presented so that saidloop will readily conform tothe contour of the tooth to which the bandis fitted and upon which it is subsequentlyv mounted.

From the ends of the contoured portion of the strip of metal, portionsof the latter which are flat and straight, are extended parallel withand immediately adjacent each other to form a short arm or extension I Iand the ends or terminal portions of the parallel members that form thisarm are rebent as designated by I2 so as to lie immediately adjacent toeach other and between construction provides on the external faces ofthe arm and at the inner end of the four thick- -nesses of metal abruptshoulders I3 that serve as flat against the outer faces of the armmembers.' 1

as designated by I5 and the ends of the rfebent portions form plierengaging shoulders or abutments IB. H"

In this construction the rebent or -folded back portions of strips atthe ends of the arms are secured to said arms by solder or otherwise soas to provide unyielding abutments for the jaws of the pliers and theends of the folded portions are permanently secured to each other bysolder I'I, which is placed in the joint between the ends of themembers.

In the modified construction illustrated in Fig. 4, small pieces I8 ofthin metal are connected by solder or by spotwelding or brazing to theinner faces of the ends of the strip members forming the arm orextension I I, thus providing at the end of said arm four thicknesses ofmetal, with abutments or shoulders I9 on the side faces of the arm orextension adjacent the inner end of that portion of said arm having saidfour thicknesses of metal.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 5, small sections of thin metal2G are suitably secured to the outer faces of the end portions of thearm or extension II, thus forming abutments or shoulders 2|.

The forward ends of the plier jaws carry short extensions 25 that occupypositions substantially at right angles to the plane occupied by thebody of the pliers and formed in said extensions, are longitudinallydisposed slots 26 of suflicient width to accommodate the two thicknessesof metal that form the arm or extension of the molar band.

The outer faces of the members 25 are slightly concaved lengthwise so asto conform to the curvature of the loop of the band that surrounds thetooth and to the curvature of the tooth itself.

Thus the pliers may be used for either righthand or lefthand operationsand likewise they may be used in fitting the molar band to an upper orlower tooth.

In fitting the molar band to a tooth the two thicknesses of the metalstrip that form the arm or extension II are inserted in the slots 26 inthe angular extensions at the ends of the jaws of the pliers and thecontoured loop of the band is placed around the tooth as illustrated inThe handles of the pliers are now pressed toward each other with theresult that the extensions 25 on the ends of the jaws of the pliers willspread apart so that one extension will move away from the tooth intoengagementwith the shoulders or abutment-.s formed on the outer faces ofthe arm or extension adjacent its end and the other extension will pressthe end portions of the loop of the band against the tooth.

By exerting pressure on the handles of the pliers the band may be drawntightly aroundthe tooth into intimate contact with the surface therof soas to produce an accurate fit of the band upon the tooth. After thisfitting has been ac,- cornplished the fitted band is removed from thetooth and the ends of the contoured portion of the band are nowpermanently secured to each other by means of solder that is introducedin the joint or point of contact between the ends of the contouredportion and as designated by the numeral 21 in Fig. 8.

The two thicknesses of the metal strip that form the arm or extensionI'I are now cut directly opposite the soldered joint'and .the cut edgeson the outer face of the band are smoothed and finish'ed olf.

Inasmuch as the band is formed of thin resilient metaL'it may beconveniently bent and manipulated when finally applied to the tooth andif it is found` necessary to slightly spread or open the advance edge ofthe band in applying the same to the tooth,'such action may beaccomplished with suitable tools and after the band is in properposition upon the tooth the advance edge of said band may be bent orburnished inwardly so as to fit snugly upon the tooth.

Thus it will be seen that the shoulders formed on the side faces of thearm or extension of the band provide a substantial abutment againstwhich the terminal portion of one of the jaws of the pliers engageswhile the end of the other jaw presses the ends of the contoured portionof the band into close and intimate engagement with the tooth during theband fitting operation.

A highly desirable feature of my invention is the contouring of theintermediate portion of the band so that when applied to the tooth itwill readily conform to the shape of the tooth and particularly thatportion of the surface of the tooth to which the band is subsequentlymounted.

Further, the construction that produces the flat parallel end portionsof the band and the shoulders or abutments thereon, provides for the useof a form of pliers that are highly effective in drawing the loopedportion of the band into intimate contact with the surface of the toothand producing a perfect fit.

Where bands of straight nat metal are applied to teeth, it ispractically impossible to contour the same by means of pliers or liketools, for where such practice is carried out, both upper and loweredges of the band will be crimped or bent during the contouringoperations so that all portions of the inner surface of the band willnot make direct contact with the tooth.

Where a straight flat band is applied to the tooth and the upper andlower edges crimped or contoured in an endeavor to cause the band. to tf;

the contour of the tooth, the resultingirregular crimped edges are veryundesirable inasmuch as they tend to irritate the tongue, skin andadjacent tissues. f

Inasmuch as my improved band is pre-contoured, it is not necessary tocrimp either edge of the band when the same is finally mounted upon thetooth and as the contour of the band conforms to the contour-of thetooth, a Very snug fitting band is produced inasmuch as the entire innerface of the band makes intimate contact with the convex outer face ofthe tooth.

After the band has been prepared for mounting on the tooth as hereindescribed, the cutoff por tions of the band whichare not contaminatedwith solder, may be remelted and put back into its original strip formwithout requiring a refining process, thus effecting a material savingof time, labor and expense.

Where the band is constructed as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it is notalways necessary to unite the ends of the extended portions I I withsolder, for the jaw of the pliers when applied to the extended arm bearsagainst the abutments I3 which in turn bear against the ends of theinwardly folded portions II and where such construction is utilized, theentire arm or extension when cut off is not contaminated with solder andit may be remelted in its entirety without refining, thereby resultingin a decided manufacturing advantage and a material saving in productioncosts.

Inasmuch as my improved band is made from metal rolled into strip form,the band when prepared for tting to a tooth, readily lends itself tosuch operation by reason of the fact that the bers of the metal in theband are disposed substantially lengthwise thereof, thus materiallyincreasing the tensile strength of the band which increases resistanceto fracture and being of rolled stock, the thickness of the band isuniform throughout its length.

With types of molar bands now on the market, for instance, of the typedisclosed in Patent 1,670,361, issued May 22, 1928, which bands are' ofthe endless band or loop type that are formed of seamless tubing andwhere such practice prevails, it is necessary to produce the bands in atleast three different sizes.

In applying these forms of bands, the pliers must be gripped on a smallprojecting loop of the band Very close to the latter so as not to causepain to the patient and there is always danger of fracture of the banddue to the position of the pliers while pinching the band into closeengagement with the tooth.

Another disadvantage of the bands produced from seamless tubing is thatin drawing the tubing from which the bands are produced, the wall uponthe mandrel and draw plate will in a short time produce discrepancies inthe thickness of the band so that the band stock will be thin at certainpoints so that there is danger of breakage of the stock when the bandsare being fitted or after they have been in service for so'me time.

Where bands are formed of seamless tubing, the metal in the tubing iscut crosswise, which necessarily decreases the tensile strength of theproduced bands, but in my improved band the ribbonlike metal is producedby a rolling process so that the metal fibers are longitudinallydisposed within the band and threefore the stock is much moresubstantial and in keeping with the best principles of metallurgicalengineering and the gauge of the stock is uniformly maintained.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of the various parts of my improved molar band may be madeand substituted fo'r those herein shown and described without departingfrom the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a molar' band comprising a strip ofribbonlike metal having straight flat end portions, that portion of theband between said end portions being curved in cross section, theterminal portions of the straight at ends being integrally secured toeach other and there being shoulders formed on the outer faces of thestraight flat end portions o'f the band to form abutments for one of thejaws of the pliers used in fitting the band to the tooth.

2. A molar band, comprising an open loop formed of thin ribbonlike metalthe end portions of the strip of metal from which said loop is formed,extending outwardly from the ends of said open loop and the terminalportions of said outwardly extending end portions of the strip of metalbeing folded upon themselves to form shoulders on the outer faces of theoutwardly extending portions of the strip, which shoulders provideabutments for one of the jaws o'f the pliers used in fitting the band tothe tooth.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a molar band comprising a strip ofribbonlike metal having its intermediate portion bent to form a loop,the ends of which strip of metal beyond said loop are brought togetherto form parallel extensions that are permanently secured to each otherand a shoulder formed on the outer face of one o'f the parallelextensions to provide an abutment for one of the jaws of the pliers usedin fitting the band to the tooth.

4. A molar band formed from a strip of ribbonlike metal, theintermediate portion of which strip is bent to form an o'pen loop, thewall of said A loop being curved in cross section, portions of the stripof metal extending outwardly from the ends of the open loop and therebeing shoulders formed on both outer faces of the outer portion of saidextension to provide abutments for one of the jaws of the pliers used infitting the band to the tooth.

5. A molar band formed from a strip of ribbonlike metal, theintermediate portion of which strip is bent to form an open loop,portions of the strip of metal extending outwardly from the ends of theopen loop in parallel relation and positioned immediately adjacent toeach other to form an arm of double thickness of material and which armadjacent its outer end is bent to form abutments on both of its sidefaces.

6. A molar band formed from a strip of ribbonlike metal, theintermediate portion of which strip is bent to form an open loop,portions of the strip of metal extending outwardly from the ends of theopen loop in parallel relation and positioned immediately adjacent toeach other to form an arm of double thickness of material and abutmentson both side faces of said arm.

'7. As a new article of manufacture, a molar band, comprising a strip ofribbon-like metal having its intermediate portion bent to form a toothencircling loop, the end portions of the strip of metal being extendedfrom said loop in parallel relation and immediately adjacent each otherto form an arm and the terminal portions of the metal forming said bandand arm being bent and folded double to form external plier jaw engagingabutments on the outer faces of the arm adjacent its outer end.

ANNIE RICHARDSON.

